MotoGP – KTM already tried to sign Marc Marquez

Bruno Gomes

January 14, 2019

Marc Marquez | Photo credits: MotoGP

Motorcycle racers are often subject to contract proposals when their current contracts are nearing the end, and MotoGP riders aren’t any different, and every time the top riders are “up for grabs”, the factory teams try to get the best riders to sign for them. And that’s precisely what the Red Bull KTM factory team did back in 2017, trying to sign Marc Marquez for their MotoGP project.

The confirmation came from new KTM Spain general manager Marc Coma, who, speaking to the microphones of Marca Motores radio show, said the Austrian manufacturer made an offer and was locked in negotiations with Marc Marquez manager Emilio Alzamora

“To start with, we need to remember Marc has already been part of the KTM family. Every project needs to evolve, and KTM MotoGP project is developing as expected. When the bike is ready to win races, why not have Marc Marquez? KTM already tried to sign him a season ago. We did an offer to sign him”, says Coma, who would love to have his compatriot riding for KTM in MotoGP.

Marc Marquez | Photo credits: PM Studio

Marc Marquez didn’t accept KTM’s offer at the time, and signed a new deal with Honda Racing Corporation to continue to ride for the Japanese factory until the end of the 2020 MotoGP season.

It won’t be a complete surprise that, with the help of their main sponsor Red Bull, which also sponsors Marc Marquez at a personal level, the KTM factory team tries to snatch the five-time MotoGP champion from Honda when new rider contracts start to be negotiated for the 2021 MotoGP season.

Marc Marquez already raced for KTM on the extinct 125 cc class, on the 2008 and 2009 seasons, so if he signs for the Mattighofen factory in MotoGP, it will be just like he’s returning home.